I suspect the saga continues.  I really feel sorry for her.  PS did the usual thing-came in, validated a client(s) delusion or in this case, create a new one by telling Laura she is possessed, performed their mumbo-jumbo and then rode off into the sunset.

Can't help wondering what that families neighbors think about all this.

If exploiting a mentally and/or emotionally unstable person for ratings isn't against the law, it should be.  Perhaps in this age of reality TV, the legal profession needs to take a harder look at some of these shows.

P.S. I am editing this post to include a discussion I had with a psychologist friend this morning.  She did not see the show but I described it as best I could. 

We talked about the phrase "I am six".  In concluding that this may indeed be a case of "Peter Pan Syndrome", she said the "six" may refer to the chronological age that Laura may be stuck in.  An event in her life, such as a major illness that both frightened her parents and made them overprotective may have had something to do with it.  I just assumed the "six" meant 6 demons or whatever, but it was good to get a therapist's take on this.

My friend also pointed out that what PS appeared to do in this episode was way over the top.  Unlike psychology, psychiatry etc., there is no such thing as a board which oversees and sets parameters for a field that doesn't even exist yet.  Thus, no one is at the controls and can suggest that in some cases, such as this one IMO, a team like this may have stepped outside the bounds and actually done more harm then good.

I'm thinking about writing A & E about this episode, but it would probably do no good anyway, seeing that PS seems to be such a popular show.

I am very happy to see that others feel the same way.  This show has stooped to new lows.

About her psychologist–remember that his interview was no doubt edited quite a bit.  I'm wondering what his diagnosis is of poor Laura's problems.  She had to have signed a medical release form (due to HIPAA) just to be able to say what he did.  I was surprised that he even gave out as much as hedid; i.e., she's not schizophrenic. 

My psych friend said he gave the right answer since he probably did not believe in possession "I believe that people believe they can be possessed", and then treat accordingly.  Seems PS took that ball and ran with it.

Now her therapist is left to pick up the pieces of the mess PS left him and the family with.

BTW, has anyone seen the new SciFi show The Exorcist.  Take PS and go from bad to worse.  I could only watch a few minutes before turning it off; hence no review.  This is getting absurd.  Shows like this are simply not conducive to mental health.  Why does TV feel that they have to show such anti-science, medieval backwardness?  Now watch the rate of people who think they are possessed rise to new heights-a very unhealthy prospect.

So the guys who are trying to market a truly skeptical show (I think they're called "The Skeptologists" or something like that) seem not to be able to get on one of the major networks.  Is there a conspiracy to refuse to show more rational, debunking shows and instead thrust this garbage at the public?

Have TV networks no shame??  My mind boggles.

Oubliette said:

I'm thinking about writing A & E about this episode, but it would probably do no good anyway, seeing that PS seems to be such a popular show.

There was really nothing on TV yesterday afternoon.  While flipping channels, I came upon PS.  I watched PS when it first started, but I finally stopped.  I simply couldn't take it anymore.  There is only so much "Chip Coffey" that one should have to endure.  Anyway, I decided to stop and watch the show.  The show was "I Am Six."

Unbelievable…

Oubliette did an outstanding recount of the show and analysis of the material.  I completely and utterly agree with her so no reason recap it myself.  However, after watching this trash, I did go to the A&E website because I did want to write to them about it.  Will it do any good?  Probably not.  But I felt I had to do something (you don't fight the fights that you can win, you fight the fights that need fighting).  The theme of the letter went something like this- "If they wish to placate the emotionally troubled and possibly mentally ill with an exorcism, then why not go the full midieval route and throw her in irons and toss leeches on her as well?  Why not go all out in leading the defenseless, sacraficial lamb to the slaughter if it's good for ratings?  Think of it, if she commits suicide you could have an one hour special and Chip could communicate with her from the beyond.  How grand that would be…"  Yeah…and then it got angry…anyway… 

While at the A&E website, I checked out the mboard for PS.  Apparently quite a few posts and even entire threads had been deleted concerning this particular show.  There were a couple left so I looked through them.  Man…I guess Fanboys will be Fanboys.  My favorite defense of the PS team is that the girl was a "hypersensitive empath."  That was the root of the problem.  That's why she was more apt to be taken by a demon.  Seriously?  Are you kidding me?

I don't really mind these ghost shows.  It's fun to watch and if people want to run around in the dark and figure out what goes bump in the night, fine.  I have no problem with that.  If you can talk a network into following your group around with cameras and get paid for it, more power to you.  But…when you go into someone's home under the guise of "helping them" and it turns out that they have very real and very serious problems…you HAVE TO back off.  Your moral compass must point in the direction of "what's best for this person" as opposed to "this is going to look good on film."  Anything less and it's not only pathetic, it's borderline criminal. 

Revenant, many thanks for the compliment!

Channel fan boards are a hoot.  Trouble is they are moderated and it doesn't take long to pull all the negative posts if they become too numerous and make sense, which most of them do.

It is obvious the suits up in the penthouse offices of these channels have lost any semblance of a moral compass, if they ever had any.  Shame on them for exchanging the damaging (IMO) aspects of shows like PS for the almighty dollar.  I confine my viewing now to mostly the Science Channel, Discovery (including medical; I've always wanted to be a doctor), NatGeo, History and History International–keeping in mind that some of what they show is debatable or even plain wrong.  But it's still better then 90% of what is out there.

Maybe the Science Channel should pick up "The Skeptologists". I forget what huge conglomerate owns so many of these channels.  I believe the Science Channel is a spinoff of Discovery. 

Someone, please, at least give skeptics an honest shot.  Maybe they're afraid of litigation from shows like GH, PS etc.  Or maybe skepticism just doesn't "sell".

Hannah, thanks for your thoughts on this. 

You brought up a very interesting view of the subject.  Did she have the "proper" signs of a "true possession?"  I understand your point.  But I must admit, I got a bit hung up on the "true possession" aspect of it.  For a true possession to exist, one must believe and validate the act of exorcism itself as "real."  I will only say that I am highly suspect of the act of exorcism and I'll leave it at that.  

I began poking around the net, looking at various sites.  I was focused more on the mentally ill aspect.  I wanted to get some sort of statistical look at the number of exorcisms verus the number of people that had a history of mental illness.  I also wanted to look at the general educational background of those "needing" an exorcism.  In both pursuits, I failed.  I simply couldn't find what I was looking for.  I found a few medical studies, but nothing that answered any of my questions.

But, I won't leave empty-handed.  Here's what the Skeptic's Dictionary has to say on the subject:

 http://www.skepdic.com/exorcism.html

As I poked around the net, I did find something interesting though.  I began looking at Andrew Calder.  He is the man who performed the exorcism.  Here's his blog at Myspace:

 http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=144827808

His entry for the "I Am Six" show is "Exorcism in Illinois."  Look further down and you'll see he appeared on the TAPS Family Radio show.  This intrigued me.  Why would a priest do that particular radio show?  In fact, he seemed to have a great interest in the paranormal.  So, I looked further…

 http://www.geocities.com/georgiaparanormal/director.html

I am uncertain what to make of this.  An ordained priest having his own paranormal investigating group.  Does this strike anyone else as odd?

Hannah said:

Article: Real-life case of demon possession documented
Woman levitated, spoke other languages, showed paranormal powers
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=58835

Source for above article: AMONG THE MANY COUNTERFEITS

Thanks for all the links…much to go through.  I'm going to focus on the above link (I choose not to pay the $1.50 to read the other one…man, I still remember a time when everything on the net was free…anyway…).

So, I read the story.  It's interesting.  Shocking even.  I sat back, thought about it, and realized that it's also the poster-child for why I post on this forum.

It is an amazing story of the paranormal.  Believers in exorcism will use it perform even more exorcisms.  Demonologists will study the case and use it in their lectures.  They will never forget to mention the "board-certified psychiatrist and associate professor of clinical psychiatry at New York Medical College" who was there.  Undoubtedly…this case will finally show those skeptics a thing or two.

Oh really? 

Hmmm…where is the video evidence showing her levitate?  That would be great to see.  Can we hear all the languages that she spoke (more on this later)?  Can we get any sort of description of the room that she was in?  Could she hear anything being spoken outside the room to explain how she "knew" things?  "Objects would fly around the room?"  Really?  Cool.  What were the objects?  Can we see the video evidence of this?  It was a warm day in June and the room got cold.  What were the temperature readings?  Then the room got hot?  Really?  A room got hot at midday in June on a warm day?  Stop the presses….

My favorite was the old "speaking in tongues" deal.  They claim she had "multiple voices and sounds come out of her."  Not even the slightest clue what they're talking about here.  Sure wish we could hear the sound recording of the event.  But it gets better.  "At one point, the voices spoke in foreign languages, including recognizable Latin and Spanish. (Julia herself only speaks English, as she later verified to us.)"  Um…what?  She verified that to you?  The girl supposedly possessed by a demon told this to you and you believed it?  This is what we're going with here?  Sure, I mean who speaks Latin?  Nobody does.  Well…except maybe a woman "with a long history of involvement with Satanic groups."  Aren't a lot of those Satanic rituals in Latin?  Still though…pretty weird that she knew it though, huh?  And speaking Spanish?  Wow…that is impressive…I mean who speaks Spanish anymore?   

I just want evidence.  Don't tell me this and that happened.  Show me.  Prove it.  Prove something.  Prove anything.

I'm really glad Hannah found this story.  I've seen tons like it while looking at both demonology and exorcism.  Every single one is just like this.  "This is what I saw.  It was scary.  You should be scared too."  I would be…if I was 9 years old.  But as an educated adult, I need more than scary imagery.  I need more than hearsay.  Is solid evidence of any of this too much to ask for?  Actually…I think it is…